Entries in Nintendo
(59)

emember when we said the year 2016 sucked? Apparently the year 2017 sat back, and was all like “Hold my beer” and stuff, because man there were a lot of moments in it that just boiled it down to a 12-month shit show as well. If there was one thing that 2017 did get right though, it was most definitely the video games, and let us tell you, it made for one of the hardest Golden Zonkey panels yet.

So hard in fact, that for the first time in Press Pause Radio history, we had to split the show up into two different parts! Our trademark Game of the Year podcast is special multi-part mega cast where we give our prestigious mark of excellence, a Golden Zonkey, to the game deserving of recognition towards that respective recognition.

Everything from games to events that saw the light of day in 2017, across fourteen different categories, and we have that very list for you here now. We’ll be plowing through an incredible catalog of choices, debating with one another from beginning to end in this epic podcast, each voicing our vote for the winner of its corresponding category.

The only stipulation in the Golden Zonkies, is that any point, a wild card can be suggested by one of the hosts if majority vote dictates that another nomination is more deserving of the award instead of the choices presently casted.

So without further ado, we present to you all Press Pause Radio’s Golden Zonkies, class of 2017! Enjoy the show!

ver since Nintendo issued a takedown of Milton Guasti’s AM2R, fans of the iconic exploration-driven sci-fi property have been chomping at the bit for a new entry, and in a surprising turn of events—the Big N responded by unveiling not one, but two upcoming Metroid titles on the docket for a future release.

One of them, in particular, seemed to explain the company’s swift litigatory actions with AM2R, as they teased their own remake of the Gameboy classic, aptly titled Metroid: Samus Returns. While the announcement generated all the hype you’d expect, it also raised a lot of eyebrows, as it was also revealed that Nintendo would be handing off development over to Mercury Steam, the folks behind polarizing Lords of Shadow games in the Castlevania franchise; including that sloppy 3DS entry, Mirror of Fate. Not to mention the last time Nintendo handed the reigns of series over to another studio, we were all treated to the disaster that was Metroid: Other M, resulting in a disappointing sales performance that set the property back six years until the underwhelming release of Metroid Prime: Federation Force just last year.

Metroid: Samus Returns needed to be more than some knee-jerk reaction to the fans who clamored for it; it needed to be a quality game that was worthy of succeeding the likes of Metroid Fusion, and Super Metroid…

Thankfully, the remastered take on Samus’ second adventure is easily one of the best games to have ever bear the Metroid name.

intendo's Classics line has been nothing short of a success, even if that success only means that the limited stock that was initially released - and in some cases, already replenished with fresh units - have been quickly and completely sold out. At the very least, people are keenly and acutely aware of the SNES Classic and its infamously-under-produced-and-forthcoming-again predecessor, the NES Classic. However, people are already looking forward to theoretical successors, and the Nintendo 64 seems ripe for the Classics line treatment. After all, the N64 had a healthy fan-base and some notable games, but are these qualities really enough for it to actually make for a good “Classics” machine?

Well, no, not especially and there are quite a few factors that support this.

First, let's discuss the Nintendo 64 itself. The Nintendo 64 was launched in North America in 1996 to a voracious crowd that decimated its supply in the kind of way you'd expect of a Nintendo's launch; seemingly under-produced, rarely restocked... you know the drill. The system itself had four controller ports built in, relied on cartridges (with a woefully small capacity compared to CD ROMs) and other features like analogue controllers, expandable bits that increased the system's power and, of course, a decent selection of strong first party games over the course of its lifetime. So, all of the ingredients that would make a great classic mini system right—still no, and not all the nostalgia in the world could prove otherwise.

e’re not going to sparse words here guys, 2016 sucked; for a lot of reasons. Despite the fact that it wasn’t the best year for a lot of reasons, it sure did have a lot of good going for it in terms of video games. VR officially launched across both PC and console, mobile games made their presence know more than any other time before it, and Nintendo finally spilled the goods on their upcoming console with the reveal of the Nintendo Switch.

So, while we all happily say good bye and welcome 2017 with open arms, remember that there were some cool games and releases that made our little hobby pretty rad; and we’re going to celebrate that with this episode!

We’ve recorded a special mega cast where we give our prestigious mark of excellence, a Golden Zonkey, to the game deserving of recognition towards that respective recognition.

Everything from games to events that saw the light of day in 2016, across fourteen different categories, and we have that very list for you here now. We’ll be plowing through a incredible catalog of choices, debating with one another from beginning to end in this epic podcast, each voicing our vote for the winner of its corresponding category.

The only stipulation in the Golden Zonkies, is that any point, a wild card can be suggested by one of the hosts if majority vote dictates that another nomination is more deserving of the award instead of the choices presently casted.

So without further ado, we present to you all Press Pause Radio’s Golden Zonkies, class of 2016! Enjoy the show!

et's just get this out of the way before we get going: You know what the Wii U is? Yes, that's right, it's its own thing. As far as the gaming landscape these days goes, all you typically need to get the best gaming has to offer is either one of Sony's or Microsoft's gaming boxes and a PC. But what if you want something a little more lighthearted? A little different? Well, that's where the Wii U comes in.

And you really don’t get a Wii U unless you're both ready and willing to play games the way Nintendo envisions them. Oftentimes, that includes using the technology that they have based their system around; which in this case—that would be the Game Pad.

If you don’t like the idea of motion controls or tablet-style gameplay, then ignore this review, because you shouldn't have a Wii U to begin with. With all of that said, Nintendo still manages to irritate me quite a bit, but when it comes to Star Fox, nothing keeps me from my fix.

You may have seen various pieces from around the interwebs; specifically from larger publications which, for all intents and purposes, shall remain nameless—claiming that Star Fox Zero is nigh-unplayable, that there's just so much busted about the game that it's not worth even a casual glance. Well, you can all just relax already, because Star Fox Zero is good—very good, in fact. Maybe even great, but we'll have to look a little deeper to see if that's an adequate description of Nintendo's sixth (released) core entry to the series.

egardless of how you may feel about the Wii U, the fact that Nintendo has launched a mobile app across major marketplaces like iOS, and Google Play is a really big deal. Even though this is the first piece of software to release outside of the Big N’s proprietary hardware, the app is definitely as “Nintendo” as it can get, and Georgie decides to give you all a tour of the app in action, and what you can do with it.

I mean, it IS free, check out our Play Play, and give it a whirl; oh, and add George because he could use some more friends, that loser…

ncoming; we’ve got a late podcast from PPR, and for that; we sincerely apologize, but just know that we’re still here, we’re still kicking, and that’s never going to stop.

So GDC, George went there, and he played a TON of stuff; mostly shit that transported him to immersive worlds through the use of various gaudy headwear tech options that were strapped to his dumb dome. Stuff like Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, Idealswift, and more in this special GDC recap.

Tons of other game talk too, especially Nintendo, and the debut of their app, Miitomo, some Batman V Superman talk, and all those shitty NX leaks that we all had fun with dissecting. What are y’all waiting for? Give it a listen!

intendo’s Pokémon property has endured over many years, taking all shapes and sizes beyond the humble role-playing game it once was, but main line of titles not withstanding—one particular spin-off series of Pokémon that really embraced traditional conventions and difficulty curve of the Japanese RPG.

Mystery, Dungeon, or as its most commonly referred to as; the dreaded rogue-like dungeon crawling bastard of a niche RPG sub-genre—something this intimidating doesn’t soundly like it would pair up with a concept like Pokémon very well.

Unsurprisingly, the reality to the success of the concept has been mixed at best over the years. The latest title to grace the series however strives towards an ambitious direction, one that actually takes advantage of the license it’s built around.